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Trends in physical activity and sedentary behaviour in adolescence: ethnic and socioeconomic differences
Open accessAbstract
Objective:To assess developmental trends in physical activity and sedentary behaviour in British adolescents in relation to sex, ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES). Design:A 5-year longitudinal study of a diverse cohort of students aged 11–12 years at baseline in 1999. Setting:36 London schools sampled using a stratified random sampling procedure. Participants:A total of 5863 students categorised as white, black or Asian, and stratified for SES using the Townsend Index. Main outcome measures:Number of days per week of vigorous activity leading to sweating and breathing hard. Hours of sedentary behaviour, including watching television and playing video games. Data were analysed using multilevel, linear, mixed models. Results:Marked reductions in physical activity and increases in sedentary behaviour were noticed between ages 11–12 and 15–16 years. Boys were more active than girls, and the decline in physical activity was greater in girls (46% reduction) than in boys (23%). Asian students were less active than whites, and this was also true of black girls but not boys. Black students were more sedentary than white students. Levels of sedentary behaviour were greater in respondents from lower SES. Most differences between ethnic and SES groups were present at age 11 years, and did not evolve over the teenage years. Conclusions:Physical activity declines and sedentary behaviour becomes more common during adolescence. Ethnic and SES differences are observed in physical activity and sedentary behaviour in British youth that anticipate adult variations in adiposity and cardiovascular disease risk. These are largely established by age 11–12 years, so reversing these patterns requires earlier intervention.
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“Males are reportedly more active than females at all ages from youth to adolescence [18, 20, 58].”
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“Evidence shows that girls are less physically active than boys regardless of age [18, 19, 58].”
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“Although PA typically declines and SB increases as children get older [33, 35–38]”
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“This may be particularly important for children and adolescents from low socioeconomic backgrounds, who typically engage in greater amounts of ST [48–51] and are also less likely to live in green neighbourhoods [52].”
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“Children from poorer backgrounds and those from single parent families are more likely to be affected by these barriers [18, 19, 42, 44, 45].”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Brodersen, N. H., Steptoe, A., Boniface, D. R., & Wardle, J.
- Affiliations
- Cancer Research UK (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Wardle, Jane
- Venue
- British Journal of Sports Medicine
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2006-12-18
- Volume
- 41
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 140-144
- ISSN
- 0306-3674 (ISSN-L)
- 1473-0480
- PMC
- PMC2465219
- OpenAlex
- W2170211395
- Cited by
- 483
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 36 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 31 · 2016: 34 · 2015: 46 · 2014: 40 · 2013: 41 · 2012: 30
- FWCI
- 9.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- British Journal of Sports Medicine (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Cancer Research UK
- British Heart Foundation
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Physical Activity and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Social Sciences › Life-span and Life-course Studies › Recreational Sport and Physical Activity
- Keywords
- physical activity, sedentary behavior, adolescence, ethnic differences, socioeconomic status, sex differences, vigorous activity, television viewing, video games, Townsend index, longitudinal trends, transition to adolescence, cardiovascular risk
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Cardiovascular Diseases, Child, Ethnicity, Female, Humans, Life Style, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Risk Factors, Sex Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, Cohort Studies, Health Behavior, Exercise, Body Mass Index
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